Automatic electrical timing device



March 12, 1935. w s 1,993,949

AUTOMATIC ELECTRICAL TIMING DEVICE Original Filed Nov. 15, 1931 2Sheets-Sheet l 1/ INVENTOR.

Ln WELSER .BY 1

A TTORNEYS.

March 12, 1935.

L. WELSER AUTOMATIC ELECTRICAL TIMING DEVICE Original Filed Nov. 15,1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. LYLE WELSER Wm X M ATTORNEYS.

Patented Mar. 12, 1935 PATENT OFFICE AUTOMATIC ELECTRICAL TIMING DEVICELyle Welser, Springfield, Mass, assignor of onethird to Mass.

Stanley M. Kenerson, Springfield,

Application November 13, 1931,. Serial No. 574,854

Renewed February 6, 1934 10 Claims.

timers and more particularly to a timer for use in races for determiningthe time taken by a contestant in covering a predetermined course.

Foot races, for example, are customarily started by the firing of apistol and ended by the runner breasting a tape stretched across thefinish line, the time consumed by the runner in covering the coursebeing determined by means of a split second stop watch held in the handsoi an oflicial who starts the watch at the sight of the smoke from thepistol and stops it when he sees the runner breast the tape. It haslongbeen recognized that -this method of timing is subject to verysubstantial errors due to variation in the reaction time of theindividual operating the watch, and various devices for automaticallytiming races have been proposed. As far as I am aware none of thesedevices previously proposed has been practically successful, because ofinherent defects in the devices rendering their operation unreliable, orbecause of their bulk or shall be exceedingly accurate and at the sametime compact, and which does not require elaborate special devices atthe starting and finishing point of the race, being operable inconnection with the usual starting pistol and finish tape. A furtherobject is to provide a device of this character which canbe manufacturedat a cost sufllciently low o make it available for even small schoolsand athletic associations. Other and more specific objects of myinvention will be apparent form the following specifications and claims.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of myinvention as applied to foot races:

Fig. 1 is adiagrammatic view of the apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the actuating mechanism attached to thestarting piston;

Fig. 3 is a detail view of the switch associated with the pistol,looking from the left of Fig. 3, parts being omitted;

Fig.4 is a detail view of the switch associated with the watch actuatingmember;

Fig. 5 is a view of the structure shown in Fig. 4 as viewed from theleft of said figure;

Fig. 6 is a detail view of the actuating switch associated with thefinishing tape; and

, I (Cl. 161-18) My invention relates to automatic electrical The maincircuit arrangement is shown in Fig. 1 and will first be described. Thestarting pistol shown at 1 is provided with a switch mechanism generallyindicated by the reference character 2. Switch 2 is normally open but isadapted to be 5 closed, as later described, by discharge of the pistol.The finish tape is shown at 3 and'is provided with switch mechanismgenerally indicated at 4, which switch also is normally open but adaptedto be closed, as later described, by the 10 breasting of the tape by therunner. One terminal of switch 2 is connected by a lead 5 to a terminalof switch 4. The second terminal of switch 2 is connected by a lead 6 toa contact member '7 and the second terminal 01' switch 4 is connected bya lead 8 to a contact member 9 spaced from contact 7. A switch blade 10is initially held in contact with member 7 as indicated at A and isconnected by a lead 11 with the field coil 12 of a relay 14. Theotherterminal of coil 12 is connected by a lead 15 to one terminal of abattery 16, the other terminal of which is connected to lead 5 as at 17.The armature 18 of relay 14 is connected by a lead 19 to lead 5 andcarries a contact point 20 adapted upon actuation of the relay to engage26 contact point 21 which is connected by a lead 22 to one terminal of amagnet coil 23. The other terminal of coil 23 is connected by lead 24 tothe terminal of a battery 25 which is in series with battery 16. A fuse26 is preferably placed in 30 lead 24. Energizing of coil 23 operates,as later fully described, to start a stop watch 28 and simultaneouslydraw switch blade 10 from contact member '7 and into contact with member9.

Considering the circuit so far described, it will be seen that prior tothe discharge oi the pistol the circuit of the relay coil is broken bythe open gun switch 2 and that the circuit of coil 23 is broken by theopen relay switch 20-21. Discharge 01 the pistol closes switch 2, thusenergiz- 40 ing the relay causing switch 20-21 to close, .thusenergizing coil 23 to start the watch 28 and break the contact of blade10 with member 7 and mov: ing it into contact with member 9, asindicated by dotted line at B. It will be seen that movement of blade 10from contact 7 breaks the circuit of relay 14 through the gun switch,thus reopening relay switch 20-21 and deenergizing coil 23.

The contact of blade 10 with member 9 places the field coil 12 of relay14 in circuit with the open switch 4 associated with the tape 3. Thiscircuit is traced from switch 4 through lead 8, contact 9, blade 10,lead 11, coil 12, lead 15, battery 16 and lead 5 back to the switch. Itwill ll} thus be seen that when switch 4 is closed, by the runnerbreastlng the tape, relay 14 is again actuated, thus closing relayswitch -21 and reenergizing magnet coil 23 to stop the watch 28,simultaneously moving blade 10 to position C out of contact with member9, again opening the relay circuit, and consequently opening switch20-21 to deenergize coil 23.

While not essential to the operation of the device, I prefer to providea test circuit which is shown in Fig. l in light lines to betterdistinguish it from themain circuit. This test circuit comprisesleadsand 31 connected respectively to leads 6 and 7 and respective switches32 and 33. The other poles of switches 32 and 33 are connected togetherby a lead 34. Lead 34 is also connected to lead 15' by a lead 35 inwhich is placed a buzzer or other signal 36. It will be obvious thatifswitch 2 is properly open, closing of switch 32 will produce no soundfrom the bumer but that if switch 2 is closed, closing switch 32 willcause the buzzer to sound. Similarly closing switch 33 will cause thebuzzer to sound if switch4 is closed, but not if the latter is open.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the switch 2 is shown as comprising asupport formed of two strips of metal 38 and 39 suitably bolted orotherwise secured together and having their ends shaped to embrace theend of-the barrel 40 of the starting pistol, a wing nut 41 beingprovided to clamp the support to the barrel. Ribs as shown at 42 may bestruck in the strips 38 and 39 to increase its stiffness. A springcontact member 43 is secured to the rear face of strip 38 and isprovided with a binding post 44 to which lead 5 is attached. A secondspring contact member 45 is secured to the outer face of strip 39 and isprovided with a binding post 46 to which lead 6 is attached. Member-'45and its binding post are insulated from strips 38 and 39, as indicatedat 47. Members 43 and 45 carry contact points 48 and 49 respectively,which are normally held in contact by the spring of the members. Member45 is extended beyond the contact points as at 50 and the portion 50 isadapted to be engaged by a lever 51, pivoted intermediate the strips 38and 39 as at 52, and thereby holding point 59 out of contact with point48 as best shown in Fig. 4. The edge of portion 50 is curved outwardlyto facilitate engagement with the lever 51. Bolt 53 limits the downwardmovement of lever 51. The free end of lever 51 is provided with'a flatspade or plate 55, which, when the parts are in the position shown inFigs. 2 and 3, is in line and adjacent the mouth of the pistol barrel.Upon discharge of the pistol, lever 51 is driven outwardly,

releasing member 45 and permitting points 48v and 49 to contact, thusclosing the circuit, the circuit remaining closed until lever 51 isagain swung into engagement with member 45.

The points 48 and 49 are preferably of platinum and to protect them fromthe corroding gases of the pistol discharge, a curved guard plate 56 issecured to member 45 with its free end positioned beneath the contactpoint.

As best shown in Fig. 6, switch 4 is carried by a wooden bar 60 adaptedto be secured by any suitable means, such as screws 61, to the top of apost 62 of a height to maintain the tape 3 at standard elevation. Thefree end of bar 60 is forked to receive a permanent magnet 63 which isheld in adjusted position in the fork as by bolts 64. A soft ironarmature 65 is pivoted at 66 to a bracket 67 secured to bar 60 andprovided with a binding post 68 for connection to lead 8 of the maincircuit. A pigtail 69 is preferably provided to directly connect thearmature 65 to bracket 67. The free end of armature 65 is provided witha spring clip 70 which grips one end of tape 3 with sumcient strength sothat the armature 65 is held spaced from magnet 63 by a weight 71secured to a cord 72 which passes over a pulley 73 and is secured to theopposite end of the tape by a clip 74 similar to clip 70. Pulley 73 issecured at proper height to a post 75 by a suitable clamp 76. It will beunderstood that magnet 63 is adjustedsothatarmature 65 is heldiust clearof the magnet by the tautness of the tape and that when the tape isbreasted by the runner coming in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 6,the armature 65 will contact with the magnet 63. Magnet 63 is connected,preferably through a switch 78, to a binding post 79 to which lead 6 ofthe main circuit is connected. Switch 78 is opened while the tape isbeing placed in position and is then closed.

Referring to Figs. 1, 4 and 6, blade 10 of the watch operating switch ispivoted at 79 to the watch operating bar 80, which is preferablyconstructed of some light material, such as aluminum or wood. The bar 80is-pivoted asat 81 to an instrument board 100 (Fig. '1) or othersuitable support, and rests on the operating stem of a split second stopwatch 28, adiustably held in any suitable clamping means such as a plate83 provided with fixed clamping members 84 and a movable clamping member85. Plate 83 is held to its support by screw and slot connections 86 bywhich it may be adjusted as a unit with respect to bar80.Bar8oisheldinraisedpositionbythe springinthestemofthewatchandaspring87..

The free end of bar 80 is provided with an armsture 88 positioned overthe poles of magnet 23. A guide 89 is preferably provided formaintaining the movement of bar 80 in a vertical plane. Blade 10 ispreferably formed in two parts, comprising a contact blade 90,preferably made of aluminum, which telescopes within the casing 91,a-spring 92 positioned between the bottom of thecasingandbladeactingtonormallyholdthe latter in extended position. Atransverse pin 98 carried by blade 90 and extending through slots 94 and95 on opposite sides of the casing, limits the outward movement of theblade with respect to the casing. The outer end of pin 93 is providedwith a knob 96 for ease in manipulating the blade. A spring 97 strainedbetween casing 91 andbarliotendstoswingblade loina clockwise directionaround its pivot 79. with the parts in initial position, as shown inFigs. 1 and 4, contact blade 90 is held against contact member 7 byspring 97. I

When magnet 23 is first energized by the discharge of the pistol, aspreviously described. armature 88 and bar 80 are drawn. down, startingthe watch and simultaneously drawing blade 90 from contact with member 7which instantly breaks the circuit,'deenergizing magnet 32 andpermitting bar 80 to rise under the influence of the spring 87 and thespring in the watch stern. Blade 90, however, has been swung out of linewith contact 7 under the influence of spring 97 and its clockwisemovement has been arrested midway between members 7 and 9 by contact ofpin 93 with a check member 98. Check member 98 is so dimensioned that inthe upward movement of the blade, pin 93 remains in contact with thecheck until it has risen to a height to engage contact 9 when it clearsthe top of the check, and the blade then snaps into engagement withcontact 9 under the influence of spring 97. with blade 90 in contactwith member 9, the magnet 32 is now in circuit with the cpen finishswitch 4 and, as previously described, when the latter switch is closedby a runner breasting the tape, magnet 32 is again energized to draw bardownward a second time thus again depressing the watch stem and stoppingthe watch, which indicates the runners time over the course. On thissecond downward movement of bar 80, blade is drawn downward out ofcontact with member 9 thus again breaking the circuit of magnet 32. Inits-downward movement, pin 93 passes to the right of check 98 and ismoved by spring 97 in a clockwise direction out of line with member 9and against a second stop 99 with which it remains in contact as itagain rises, as shown in dotted lines at C.

The device is re-sct for another operation by opening and resettingswitches 2 and 4 and returning blade 10 to its initial contact withmember 7, which latter is accomplished by grasping knob 86 and pressingblade 90 into casing 91, thus moving pin 93 below check 98 so that theblade may be swung counterclockwise to its initial position.

The various parts of the timing mechanism proper may be mounted on anysuitable support. As shown in Fig. 7, the parts are shown assembled on apanel 100 of wood, rubber or the like, mounted in a carrying case 101,the batteries 1625 being housed behind the panel. Binding posts 102 and103 are provided on the panel for connection to leads 6 and 8,respectively, with a binding post 104 to which lead 5 is connected.

As will be obvious, the device is compact and easily portable, and canbe manufactured at a relatively low cost. In practice the device hasproved of remarkable accuracy and uniformity and I have found that therelay 19 substantially reduces the amount of current required for areliable and uniform operation of the parts. The reactance time is thesame for both start and finish-,-that is, the time between the dischargeof the gun and the starting of the watch and the time between theclosing of the tape switch and the stopping of the watch is the samesince the same operation of relay l9, magnet 23, bar 80 and member 90occurs at both the start and stop. One therefore exactly cancels theother.

While I have described my timer with particular reference to the timingof foot races, it will be obvious that it may be applied to swimming orother races by substituting appropriate means for the tape. v Althoughin the illustration described the timer is shown in portable form, andportability is one of the advantages of my arrangement, it will beunderstood that it may, if desired, be

installed as a permanent adjunct of the racecourse. What I claim is: 1.A timing device comprising a stop watch, an actuator for said watch, anelectro-magnet for moving said actuator, an electric circuit forenergizing the magnet including a relay, a normally open startingswitch, a normally 'open finish switch, and a two-way switch controlledby said actuator for initially placing therelay in circuit with thestarting switch and operative upon movement of the actuatorin responseto the closing of the starting switch to place the relay in circuit withthe finish switch.

2. A timing device comprising a stop watch, means for actuating saidwatch, an electro-magfor energizing said magnet, a normally openstarting switch adapted to be closed by operation of a starting signal,a normally open finish switch adapted to be closed by a contestantreaching the finish line, a two-way switch member operably connected tosaid means and initially positioned to place said starting switch andrelay in circuit whereby closing'of the starting switch will actuatesaid means to start the watch and simultaneously move said two-wayswitch to place said relay in circuit with the finish switch and openthe relay circuit through the starting switch whereby said means willagain be actuated to stop the watch upon closure of the finish switch. a

3. A timing device comprising a stop watch, a. pivoted lever positionedacross the stem of the watch, an electro-magnet for moving the leverinto operative contact with the watch stem, an electric relay forenergizing the magnet, 9. normally open starting switch adapted to beclosed by operation of a' starting signal, a normally open finish switchadapted to be closed by a contestant reaching the finish line, a two-wayswitch member pivoted to the free end of the lever and initiallypositioned to place the starting switch and relay in circuit wherebyclosing of the starting switch will energize the'magnet to draw thelever into actuating contact with the watch stem to start the watch andsimultaneously move the two way switch to place the relay in cricuitwith thefinishswitch and open the relay circuit through the startingswitch, whereby the magnet will again be energized to,stop the watchupon closure of the finish switch.

4. A timing device comprising a stop watch, an actuator for said watch,an electro-magnet for moving said actuator, an electric circuit forenergizing the magnet including a relay, a starting switch adapted to besecured to the barrel of a pistol, a lever normally holding said switchopen but adapted to be moved to switch closing position by the gasesissuing from the pistol, a finish switch the members of which comprise apermanent magnet and an armature, said armature being normally held outof contact with the'magnet by the tautness of a weighted finish tape butadapted to be moved into contact with the magnet to close the switch bya runner breasting the tape, a two-way switch controlled by ma actuatorfor initially placing the relay in circuit with the starting switch andoperative upon movement of the actuator in response to the closing ofthe starting switch to place the relay in circuit with the finish switchwhereby the actuator is again moved upon closure of the finish switch. 1

5. A timing device comprising a stop watch, a pivoted lever positionedacross the stem of the watch, an electro-magnet for moving the leverinto operative contact with the watch stem, an electric relay forenergizing the magnet, a starting switch adapted to be secured to thebarrel of a pistol, a lever normally holding said switch open butadapted to be moved to switch closing position by the gases, issuingfrom the pistol, a finish switch the members of which comprise apermanent magnet and an armature, said armature being normally heldout'of contact with the magnet by the tautness of a weighted finish tapebut adapted to be moved into contact with the magnet to close the switchby a runner breasting the tape, a two-way switch member pivoted to thefree end of the watch actuating lever and initially positioned to placethe starting switch net for actuating said means, an electric relayandrelay in circuit whereby closing of the startlever into actuatingcontact with the watch stemto start the watch and simultaneously movethe two-way switch member to place the relay in circuit with the finishswitch and open the relay circuit through the starting switch, wherebythe magnet will again be energized to stop the watch upon closure of thefinish switch.

6. A timing device comprising a stop watch, an actuator for said watch,an electro-magnet for moving said actuator, an electric circuit forenergizing the magnet including a'relay, a normally open starting switchadapted to be closed, and remain closed, by operation oira startingsignal, a normally open finish switch adapted to be closed, and remainclosed, by a contestant reaching the finish line, a switch mechanismcontrolled by said actuator for initially placing the relay in circuitwith the starting switch and operative upon movement of the actuator inresponse to the closing 01! the starting switch to open the relaycircuit through the starting switch and to place the relay in circuitwith the finish switch, said switch mechanism being then operative uponmovement of the actuator in response to the closing of the finish switchto open the relay circuit through the finish switch.

7. A timing device comprising a stop watch, an actuator to start andstop said watch, an electric circuit, including a relay, to control saidactuator, a starting switch adapted to be closed by the operation of astartingsignal to efiect watch starting movement of the actuator, afinish switch adapted to be closed by a contestant reaching the finishline to efiect watch stopping movement of the actuator, a movable switchmember, a contact member to initially place the relay in exclusivecircuit with the starting switch through the switch member, a secondcontact member to place the relay in exclusive circuit with the finishswitch through the switch member, means connecting the actuator and theswitch member to successively move the latter out 01' contact with saidcontact members upon successive'watch operating movement of theactuator, and spring means to move the switch including a relay forcontrolling the actuator," a

starting switch, a finish switch, a two-way switch for initially placingthe relay in circuit with the starting switch and means automaticallyoperative upon operation of the actuator in response to the actuation ofthestarting switch to actuate the two-way switch to place the relay incircuit with the finish switch. I

9. A timing device comprising a stop watch, an actuator for said watch,an electric circuit including a relay for controlling the actuator, atwo-way switch in the relay circuit, a starting switch and circuitconnections whereby in the initial position oi. the two-way switch saidstarting switch is included in the relay circuit to control the relay, afinish switch and other circuit connections whereby in the secondposition of the two-way switch said finish switch is included in therelay circuit to control the relay and means automatically operativeupon operation of the actuator in response to the operation oi thestarting switch to actuate the two-way switch to place the relay incircuit with the finish switch.

10. A timing device comprising a stop watch, an actuator for said watch,an electric circuit controlling said actuator and including a relay, astarting switch and a finish switch, a two-way switch and connectionswhereby the starting switch is initially placed in the relay operatingcircuit, and means automatically operable upon operation of the watchactuator to operate the two-way switch to place the finish switch in therelay operating circuit.

LYLE WELSER.

